Koukoa Ren
Koukoa Ren (練 心愛, Ren Kōkoa) is the Empress of the Vertilion Empire and the Chief General of the Imperial Army. She is a Dungeon Capturer with a total of six Djinns, and later becomes one of Judal's King Vessels. She is the main protagonist in the upcoming fanfictions; The Lady of Red as well as a character in author Rixre's crossovers. Appearance Koukoa is a woman of average height with red hair and eyes to match. She wears her hair in a high ponytail and her bangs partially covering the top portion of her face. She wears a black shirt underneath a garment that attaches from her neck to her corset. From her corset are various ribbon-like attachments that flow behind her. She also wears black stockings and gloves. She wears typical black combat boots and has her metal vessels with her at all times. Personality She displays a cold exterior when it comes to negotiating and battling as well as anyone who opposes Vertilion or any of her family. However she shows her calm and kind self whenever she is with her Household Members or anyone that's special to her. She cares deeply about her soldiers in battle and rather sacrifice herself in order to save somebody she loves. History Koukoa is the first princess born to the First Emperor's younger brother, Koutoku Ren of the Kou Empire and the Duchess Rin of Liàn. She grew up in the palace along with her brothers; Kouen and Koumei. She was kidnapped by the a merchant of Vertilion along with her mother when she was four years old. Koukoa was then placed into the hands of the Emperor of Vertilion, Charles, as he had a fancy for Rin and chose her to be his 3rd consort. Unable to refuse as Rin of Liàn accepted him and a year later, produced him the Fifth Prince of Vertilion, Kazuhiko. Unfortunately, during childbirth, Rin passed away and the Emperor had no other choice but to accept Koukoa into the family as his adopted child as a favor to his late consort. Koukoa was quick to adapt to her new home and obediently obeyed the what her "father" told her about telling others that she was the missing princess of Kou. She was given the title of 3rd princess as the Emperor's other two consorts before her gave birth to Princesses Adelphemia and Emeliana. When the princess was fifteen years old, an aristocrat of Vertilion (who was a native-born citizen of Kou) hired a messenger to send word to Koutuko Ren that he found the missing princess. However, a spy of the Emperor heard of this and immediately set out to pay the aristocrat off, in person, so he could keep Koukoa. And to try and persuade the aristocrat, he brought along Koukoa, herself, to convince him. The Emperor also brought along the two princesses as a way to show them the world beyond Cathay, the capital of Vertilion's walls. The aristocrat at first, downright refused the Emperor's offer of a large sum of money, as it wasn't right for the young princess to be separated from her family. Of course, he would forget he'd ever seen Koukoa if she managed to capture the 72nd Dungeon, Kaguya. Emperor Charles was hesitate at first to allow a thirteen-year old girl take up the challenge of capturing a dungeon, but after hearing about how Sinbad was able to do the same thing, permitted her to do a task. The Emperor called upon some of his men to accompany Koukoa so she could successfully capture the 72nd Dungeon. Part II: Kaguya, the Rabbit-Goddess of the Moon Princess Koukoa and the men started their journey north, into the wilderness of northern Vertilion and almost into the territory of Katsura. Along the way, unbeknownst to Koukoa, her adopted sisters, Adelphemia and Emeliana had joined her on their own purposes to capture a dungeon as well. It wasn't until the reached the Dungeon of the Rabbit-Goddess did one of Koukoa's soldiers find the two princesses and immediately reported their location to the princess. Koukoa allowed them to stay as long as they didn't try to cause trouble or get in Koukoa's way. They reached the 72nd Dungeon at night, and everyone was all wary of what could happen, as dungeons were fabled to not have anybody return from them. However, Koukoa was determined not to upset her "father" and her party went into the dungeon. They split up into three big groups entering at different times, and only five people staying outside using Clairvoyance Magic in case there was an emergency. By this time, Adelphmeia and Emeliana made their presence known to their younger adopted sister and joined their group. Each trial was trivia and folklore-related, containing legends of Kaguya, Princess of the Moon, who was a princess who was supposedly punished by the people of the Moon by sending her to Earth. And even though there were sacrifices that had to be made so that the 3rd Princess could complete her goal of staying with her "father." Eventually there was only six members left; Koukoa, Adelphemia, Emeliana and three soldiers, who stood in front of the treasure room. Koukoa was the first one to approach the door and placed her right hand into one of the slots to open the door, a soldier was the other one follow suit. They entered the treasure room, surrounded by tons of objects that could make a king. As Koukoa approached the center of the room, where the Djinn finally revealed herself, asking "Which of you are my King?" The three soldiers stepped back and bowed behind Koukoa Ren. The Djinn, at first, was confused as there wasn't a Magi in sight as the patron of this King's Vessel to tell her. Kaguya had then decided as a final test, have the three princesses fight to decide her master. And then the trio fought with weapons provided by the soldiers. Koukoa had the upperhand at first (due to her training with her adopted brothers and Kazuhiko) but Emeliana was clever enough to trick Adelphemia into joining forces with herself in order to take down Koukoa. However, when Adelphemia's and Koukoa's fight started, Emeliana literally backstabbed Adelphemia and ended her life. Koukoa, realizing too late what happened was in pure shock at the tragic scene in front of her. As Emeliana held up her sword, she was incapacitated by Kaguya, and the Djinn chose her new master as Koukoa. And scarring Emeliana's face forever. Part III: Traitor Princess is part of the Organization? After the soldiers dragged Emeliana's body back to the entrance of the Dungeon and the party head back to the aristocrat's home. Where the Emperor was awaiting their return for over a month and a half. At first, when the Emperor saw Emeliana's body, he immediately asked what happened to her. A soldier reported what happened (as a witness) and when the Emperor wanted to know the reason (since Princess Emeliana was currently unconscious) the solider didn't have an answer. The aristocrat, however was very pleased with that Koukoa was able to capture one dungeon just as he knew somebody else who did the same thing just two years before and was from the Parthevian Empire. The Emperor had asked where that the person was and if he could join the Vertilion Empire instead. The aristocrat told him that he wouldn't be able to because, the boy was all over the world, sailing the seven seas and such. The Emperor then told the aristocrat that Koukoa completed the deed and now she was out of the Kou Empire's hands. The aristocrat then proposed that the Emperor have Koukoa marry one of his cousin's sons, Jirou Ōtsutsuki of the kingdom Katsura. The aristocrat said that it would be a good way to expand the territory of the Vertilion Empire as well as not being able to give up Koukoa so easily. The Emperor had something to think about when he took his way home. As he thought more and more, he disliked the idea of giving away Koukoa. She reminded him to much of the consort he lost. When he returned, his ninth consort, Duchess Haruna Ren of Kou had given birth to the Eighteenth Princess of Vertilion, Kagura Ren. When Koukoa started to practice, she didn't know exactly how to summon her Djinn's power. And continued to try every type of weapon to see which she could use Kaguya for. It wasn't until an attendant of hers told her that her hairpin that was in her hair had a strange eight-pointed star inside it. As Koukoa took the pin and tried multiple ways to try, it wasn't until a suggestion to visit the boy who captured the dungeon before help her. She agreed, saying she would head for the Parthevian Empire, looking for the person named Sinbad. Three days before her departure, she visited Emeliana, who was almost finished healing. The Emperor hadn't left her side, except to eat. But even that was a hassle. When Emeliana saw Koukoa, she was immediately asked why she killed her sister. Emeliana just smirked and said it was all for the organization. However, after her little amount of speech; the princess passed out. The decision of what to do with Emeliana drew closer as the hours passed. One of the attendants under the Emperor suggested that he'd send her away to the "organization" where she belonged. The Emperor thought more and eventually agreed to that. He also had to grieve for Adelphemia, and the best place for Delphie's killer was far away. Part III: The Arranged Marriage: Koukoa Ren and The Ōtsutsuki Prince As the Emperor was forced to send his daughter away, the aristocrat from before (now one of the First Princes of the Blood as he had a Duchy in Aelhill) was orchestrating a marriage between the first prince of Katsura, Ichirou Ōtsutsuki and the newly Crowned Princess of Vertilion. Ichirou Ōtsutsuki was overjoyed that Koukoa was his chosen betrothed. However, the king of Katsura didn't share the same feeling. He wished that Koukoa marry his second son, Jirou, instead. Should Ichirou marry Koukoa, the country of Katsura would surely be swallowed by the Empire and wouldn't be the independent place the king's ancestors planned it to be. However, there was a fear that Kou would eventually conjure the fertile land. The King of Katsura was forced between the choice of losing his kingdom to Vertilion or to Kou. He approached the Emperor later that month, asking that if the Vertilion Emperor wanted to have Ichirou marry Koukoa Ren, the Ōtsutsuki King's lands would stay his.The Emperor agreed, however, Katsura would be a territory of Vertilion. The marriage was set, Koukoa would marry Ichirou Ōtsutsuki and become the Queen. That winter, plaque ran wild through Katsura, killing many people. Including several members of the Royal Court. The Crowned Prince and King were some of them. Koukoa cried that that her betrothed was taken from her. Ichirou was the quite attractive man that had many admirers among female princesses. Koukoa was about to kill herself as a result, but was stopped by her "father." The Emperor told her that it would she would marry the new King of Katsura, Jirou Ōtsutsuki.